Furry friends blessed at Holy Communion Lutheran Church

Monday

That’s what the Rev. David Drysdale II believes wholeheartedly, and it’s part of the reason a pet blessing was held at Holy Communion Lutheran Church on Sunday evening.

Drysdale spoke over and blessed five pets outside of the West Church Street church in Dallas, asking God to watch over the pets and foster the relationship they have with their humans.

Individually, he asked God to keep Spot’s energy up and bless him with many balls to chase, to ease the painful past Muttilda was rescued from and that Phoebe take care of her elderly owner who loves her so.

“In my mind, it’s a privilege we get to have a relationship with animals,” Drysdale said.

Some people, like Ellyn Andrews, a member of the congregation at Holy Communion Lutheran Church, brought their dogs out of love, and to heal a troubled past. Andrews is the owner of three dogs: Spot, Misty and Muttilda, their most recent rescue.

“Our dogs are God’s creatures,” Andrews said, adding she brought them to their first ever pet blessing to pray for health and happiness for them. “Muttilda was a cruelty seizure case, so I figured it would be good for her.”

Others attended the blessing because their pets are a little out of hand, like 12-year-old congregation member Emily St. Laurent, who brought her cat, Ozzie.

“He needs to get help,” she said with a laugh, trying to keep him calm in her arms as he squirmed to get away. “He’s crazy, so he needs to be blessed.”

This is the second time there’s been a pet blessing at Holy Communion Lutheran Church, according to Drysdale, a dog and cat owner himself. He hopes to do more in the future, driven by his love of animals.

Drysdale used the pet blessing to speak with owners and pets about the idea of dominion in the Bible, a concept he says many confuse.

“We tend to draw some poor conclusions from Scripture about having dominion and subduing the Earth,” he explained. “I try to show it’s not a matter of a power trip over another creature of the Earth.”

You can reach Alyssa Pressler at 704-869-1819 or Twitter.com/AlyssaPress71.

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